Tributes have been paid to Newport legend David Hando BEM who has died aged 84 following a period of ill health. Mr Hando was one of the key figures who led the reformation of Newport County from 1989 following the old club’s liquidation and relegation from the football league.
With the backing of 400 supporters and led by Mr Hando, the club reformed as Newport AFC and entered the lower reaches of non-league football with no choice but to become a Gloucestershire club, eventually finding a home at Moreton-in-Marsh 85 miles from home.
Between 1989 and 1998, Mr Hando was chairman of the newly and proudly nicknamed Exiles. He was inducted into the club’s hall of fame in 2015 - the same year he was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to football and to Newport.
